Michel Serrault Movies
One of France's most respected and prolific actors, Michel Serrault has appeared in over 100 films since making his debut in Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques in 1954. Born January 24, 1928, in Brunoy, Serrault got his start as a singer and member of Robert Dhery's theater troupe. After his debut as Mr. Raymond in Les Diaboliques, he went on to do decades of steady work in films of widely varying quality. Serrault's expressive facial features and sad, hound dog eyes made him ideal for comic character work, so it was perhaps unsurprising that he became best known internationally for playing flamboyant drag queen Albin/Za Za in La Cage aux Folles (1978) opposite Ugo Tognazzi (with whom he was frequently paired).Serrault spent his entire career in French films and often appeared with Jean Poiret in both film and stage productions. He has received many awards for his work, including a Best Actor César for Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995). Even in his advanced age, Serrault has managed to remain vibrant, starring alongside timeless screen siren Jeanne Moreau in The Old Lady Who Wades in the Sea (La Vielle Qui Marchait Dans la Mer) (1991) and working with younger talent like Mathieu Kassovitz in Assassin(s) in 1997. The actor died on July 29, 2007 of cancer in Honfleur, France. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this French variation on Mark Twain's Man with a Million story, a man's life is completely changed by the acquisition of a new car. Marcel, a Chaplainesque factory worker, sets out to buy an old motorcycle and ends up getting a new Cadillac convertible (the "beautiful American" of the title) for $100. He loses his job and suffers other misadventures, but is then amazed at how people treat him when they learn he owns the prestigious vehicle. Amusing little farce makes a few telling points about the pretensions of the very rich. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset, (more)
Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darry Cowl, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1960
Jean-Pierre Cassel is ideally cast as the hopelessly optimistic Candide in this noir updating of Voltaire's classic 18th-century social satire. Candide has been assured by his ivory-tower professor (Pierre Brasseur) that whatever fate befalls him, he will be all the better for it. Armed with the confidence of the ignorant, Candide is abused by practically everyone he comes across (he has a particularly rough time in a German POW camp), but somehow emerges with his faith in humanity unscathed. His picaresque adventures take him all the way to the Americas, both North and South. Just as in most stage versions of Candide, some of the supporting actors play double and triple roles: Robert Manuel, for example, portrays all the German officers Candide meets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Michel Simon, (more)
- 1958
Based on a story by one of France's favorite satirists, Georges Courteline, this is the second time a director has taken on the tale of bureaucracy gone mad. The first version was a 1937 film by Yves Mirande, this 1959 remake is by Henri Diamant-Berger. The story is set at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the life and times of one government worker in one of the many Civil Service offices that dot the national map. A misunderstanding arises that sets up a series of unpredictable circumstances, all bringing down the bureaucracy to the level of the absurd. A bit old-fashioned and talky, this film would not necessarily amuse all audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Noël-Noël, (more)
- 1958
Michel Serrault plays the title character in Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants (The Innocent with 40 Children). The hero is a naïve young teacher who hopes to impose modern methods on a small-town school. Instead, he falls in love with the gorgeous mother (Silva Koscina) of one of the students. His subsequent dereliction of duty results in professional disaster, but there's a happy ending all the same. Despite the considerable thespic talents of stars Michel Serrault and Silva Koscina, Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants is effortlessly stolen by its dozens of child performers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, (more)
- 1957
Assassins et Voleurs (Killers and Thieves) was the penultimate offering from French filmmaker Sacha Guitry. Though seriously ill and confined to a wheelchair, Guitry was still able to invest a great deal of energy in the project. Surprised by a burglar (Michel Serrault), the doleful Philippe (Jean Poiret) regains his composure, then asks the thief for his assistance. It seems that Philippe wants to commit suicide but hasn't the nerve to pull off the deed himself. In flashback, Philippe recounts the events that led up to this critical and anxious moment. As it turns out, our "hero" is a bigger criminal, both actual and moral, than the nonplused burglar could ever be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, (more)
The title of this French sex farce translates to That Darn Kid. The "kid" in question is nymphet Brigitte Bardot, here cast as a wide-eyed innocent. While her father hides out from the police, Bardot is protected by nightclub singer Jean Bretonniere. The two eventually fall in love, but a series of humorous complications keep them apart. Brigitte Bardot is quite convincing as the breathless (and sometimes clueless) heroine, while Mischa Auer provides a few laughs as an overly demonstrative ballet teacher (not unlike his character in You Can't Take it With You). The plot of Cette Sacree Gamine was later reworked for the 1965 Elvis Presley vehicle Girl Happy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Bardot, Jean Poiret, (more)
The greatest film that Alfred Hitchcock never made, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique is set in a provincial boarding school run by headmaster Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse). A ruthless lothario, he becomes the target of a murder plot concocted by his long-suffering invalid wife Christina (Vera Clouzot, the director's own spouse) and his latest mistress, an icy teacher played by Simone Signoret. A dark, dank thriller with a much-imitated "shock" ending, Diabolique is a masterpiece of Grand Guignol suspense. The simple murder plot goes haywire, and Michel's corpse disappears, prompting strange rumors of his reappearance which grow more and more substantial as the film careens wildly towards its breathless conclusion. Later remade as a greatly inferior 1996 Hollywood feature with Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, (more)
- 1953
A bevy of beautiful strippers team up with a handful of risqué comedians in this feature that documents a typical burlesque show from 1953. Filmed at the Follies Theater in Los Angeles, CA, Peek-a-Boo includes pulse-quickening dance numbers from Venus (billed as "the World's Most Exciting Body"), Virginia Valentine, Suzette, Jennie Lee, and Sherry Winters, with additional routines from the DuPonts and the glamorous hoofers of the Peek-a-Boo Lovlies. Funnymen Leon DeVoe, Jack Mann, Billy Foster, and Johnny Maloney deliver the laughs, and Pat O'Shea's vocals add some class to the proceedings. While a bit more daring in its humor than most of its brethren and willing to let its dancers briefly go without pasties, Peek-a-Boo did undergo a brief bit of prerelease censorship that removed the punch line from a comedy routine, which still appears in bowdlerized form on all existing prints. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
